Thanksgiving Food! Round 2 (more recipes on this one)

Alright, round 2 of belt-busting thanksgiving food. This one took place at Emily’s house and it was just as good as Round 1, if not better! Since I had made more of the food here (including the turkey), there’ll be plenty more tips that you can use for your next holiday meal. So here goes:

Turkey! OK, heres what was used for the moist turkey and gravy (my roommate Daniel helped with the gravy haha):

– 12 lb whole turkey

– 10 tablespoons butter

– 2 cups chicken stock (keep at least 2 cups extra on hand)

– 1 parsley bunch

– 1 onion, chopped into quarters

– 1 lemon, halved

– 1 whole garlic halved

– Potatoes and Carrots to surround the bird

– ¼ to ½ cup flour, depending on desired thickness of gravy

– Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. To start, defrost turkey if necessary. Remove innards. You won’t need them in this recipe but you can incorporate them in if you like. Wash and season turkey with salt and pepper inside and out. Stuff the bird with onion, 80% of the parsley, and garlic. Place bird in a roasting pan (no rack) breast side up. Melt 8 tablespoons of butter and add the remaining chopped parsley and some lemon juice (don’t completely juice the lemon) to melted butter. Baste the bird with melted butter and get it well coated. Stuff the lemon into the bird. Pre-cook the potatoes and carrots until somewhat tender. Surround the bird with vegetables and pour two cups of chicken stock into the roasting pan. Place bird into the oven for 3 and a half hours.

About halfway through the roasting process (1 hour, 45 minutes remaining), melt remaining butter and baste turkey. Also, check to make sure the stock doesn’t dry up. Add more if necessary. Then with about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes remaining (when the breast of the bird looks golden brown but some the back of the bird still looks fairly white), flip the bird over so that the breast side is now immersed in chicken stock. Return to oven for remainder of the cooking time.

Remove bird from oven upon completion of roasting and transfer the bird and vegetables to another dish, breast side down, cover, and let rest for 20 minutes. Pour the liquid from the roasting pan into a pot and bring to a boil. Mix flour and water together separately until flour appears dissolved and pour into pot while stirring the liquid consistently. Stir until liquid comes to a boil and thickens. Transfer to a bowl. Turn the turkey back on its back after resting and serve.

Ahh, stuffing, a true compliment to turkey. This was a standard Mrs. Cubbison’s stuffing mix and the recipe can also be found on the box. Only difference is I recommend using chicken stock instead of the bouillon, so here is my slightly modified recipe:

– 1 6 ounce bag of stuffing mix (I used 4 bags, so all quantities were multiplied by 4

– 1/2 cup chopped celery

– 1/2 cup chopped onion

– 2 tablespoons butter

– 1 and 2/3 cups chicken stock (add more if you like moist stuffing)

Melt butter into a sauce pot. Cook onion and celery until onions are transparent. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then turn down heat, cover, and simmer for 3 minutes. Add stuffing mix and stir in to incorporate. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, transfer, and serve.

Adding some flavorful vegetables to the mix here, Thanksgiving Ratatouille. Here’s the recipe (prepare this at least a day in advance for best results):

– 1 chinese eggplant (or half of a large eggplant)

– 1 to 2 zucchinis, depending on size

– 1 medium red onion

– 1 to 2 bell peppers, depending on size

– 2 tomatoes (use at least 3 if you’re using roma tomatoes)

– Salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and olive oil to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice all vegetables to about a quarter to half an inch (except bell peppers, slice those thinner). Season and pan sear eggplant slices in olive oil until slightly browned and slightly tender. Place eggplant into roasted pan. Top with salt, pepper, drizzles of olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. Saute onion slices until slightly soft. Place on top of eggplant and top with salt, pepper, oil, and cheese. Add raw zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes in layers of that order topping each layer with salt, pepper, oil, and cheese. Cover and bake for 35 minutes. Remove cover and bake for another 15 minutes or until Cheese on the top is golden brown. Remove and let sit until cooled. Then cover and refrigerate at least overnight. This allows the ratatouille to age and the vegetables to soak up the juice in the pan, adding more flavor. Reheat upon removal from fridge (275 to 300 degrees for about 15-25 minutes) or until hot and serve.

Thats it for what I made. Take a look at some of the other foods we had! Sorry, no recipes for the remaining pics.

Steve made this spaghetti. Very flavorful and meaty.

Our Pastor’s wife Pastor Michelle made the corn and Steve brought the shrimp cocktail (Try to guess the price of the shrimp!)

Our dear friend Jennifer made this succulent ham. Extremely juicy and the pineapples added a nice touch of sweetness. Also note the delicious chocolate and whipped cream pie that Daniel brought.

One Response to “Thanksgiving Food! Round 2 (more recipes on this one)”

[…] OK first off, some bad news. I ended up losing all my Christmas food pictures due to memory card error. But the good news is the food wasn’t too different from the thanksgiving food I made last month, so if you’re looking for tips on turkey, stuffing, or potatoes for your next big meal, swing on over here: https://eurasianepicurean.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/thanksgiving2/ […]